It's the pain that makes you real. It's the fear that destroys you.

Little Holey Vengeance Pedal Board – Build Phase 3A

Mini Phase 3 Update

I’ve decided to break Phase 3 of the Little Holey Vengeance pedal board build into subsections. I’ll be posting mini-updates over the next couple of weeks since the finishing process can take so long.

This is Phase 3A. Here is what I accomplished last night.

Update (06/05/2012): I highly recommend AGAINST using the Minwax Lacquer Sanding Sealer I used on this project. It left a very waxy film, unlike any other lacquer sanding sealer I’ve ever used. The paint peeled right off of it. I had to scrape and sand it down, apply a coat of shellac based Zinsser BIN primer, and repaint it to get it to stick correctly. The BIN is the only product I had any luck with bonding to the waxy surface.

First of all I finished the majority of the sanding with a palm sander and 180 grit paper. I then drilled and countersunk the holes I needed to attach all the parts together. I assembled the board briefly to make sure everything fit as I wanted. I also took a few photos up against some existing equipment for a size comparison at the request of a reader. That’s a 2×12 Fender Blues Deville in the brown cover right behind it and a 4×12 Marshall half stack to the side.

Size Comparison 1

Here is a side view so you can better see how the shelf sits.

Side View

Next, I applied a couple coats of Minwax Lacquer sanding sealer to the top of all the pieces. I’ll finish this up by applying the same sealer to the back of all pieces today.

Sanding Sealer

Sanding Sealer

It looks so good with the sealer on it I’d be tempted to leave it natural if I hadn’t drawn all over it. There is nothing wrong with leaving it a natural look if that’s what you want. Just remember to make very light pencil marks that can be sanded and wiped away with some CleanWood.

Once this cures completely I’ll have to scrape and plane a few drips down flat. Lacquer sanding sealer is a pain because it’s so thin it drips terribly but it dries so fast that you can’t wipe the drips away. Thankfully they scrape away easily. This can be avoided by using a spray on lacquer but you don’t get as heavy of a film build so you may need to apply more coats to get a good smooth finish. Then I’ll hit it again with the palm sander using 220 grit and then 400 grit to get it nice and smooth. I’ll also clean up the holes a bit as well. They are still a little rough around the edges but trying to fix this before sealing the board just results in the plywood face chipping and splintering. Now that it’s sealed I’ll have less trouble with that.

The main problem you’ll run into here is cleaning out the brush. Lacquer thinner works great for thinning lacquer but not the best for cleaning a brush. I use a Rapid Brush Cleaner, which is a combination of solvents that seems to cut the lacquer residue out of the brush much faster and with much less cleaner required. Be sure to use a natural bristle brush like white china bristle. Synthetic brushes, especially polyester will be a pain to clean, especially since the brush cleaner can melt them if they are left in it too long.

That’s it for the mini-update. I’ll finish sealing today and probably get it all sanded in preparation for the color coats tomorrow. I’m going out today to look at what my local auto parts shops are stocking in Duplicolor. I’m thinking of doing a bright blue base with a nice yellow striping kind of like Eddie Van Hallen’s Frankenstrat. I never really like that look on a guitar but it seems somehow right on a pedal board.